


Fever

by StegesaurusKay



Series: One Word Hamilton Prompts [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hamilton working way too hard, Illnesses, Sickfic, Worry, i love these two so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 08:18:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18961432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StegesaurusKay/pseuds/StegesaurusKay
Summary: A short ficlet from a one word prompt, featuring stubborn!sick!Ham and concerned!good bro!Lafayette.





	Fever

More than anything Alexander detests how the fever takes him apart piece by piece. What starts with feeling a little tired, run down, unfocused, ultimately leaves him delirious, stumbling, bed ridden. He cannot abide the helplessness, the whirling confusion that comes from being trapped in his own head, the aching and cramps during the worst of it. And the feeling that should he die, wasting away in a camp bed, no one will remember him more than a name on some record of dead men like the thousands of others.

It’s that thought that spurs him to continue even when he feels the illness coming on.

Alexander’s eyes hurt, fatigue clings to every muscle even as he grips his quill more tightly. He can work. He can do this. There are thousands of men in the army in more dire circumstances and they certainly complete their tasks. He can’t stop. If he stops the illness will surely take hold and he cannot… He does not have time to be sick.

Lafayette studies him from across the table. His eyes are trained on his face, brow furrowed, searching. Alexander keeps his expression unreadable as he focuses on his letter. He’d like to pretend there’s no flush coloring his cheeks, but he knows it’s there. He can feel it.

“You look awful _mon ami_. Go lie down. Please. I will speak to the General for you.”

“I’m fine,” The response is automatic, one Alexander has practiced well. It might be convincing were he not saying it to one of his closest friends.

Lafayette’s chair abruptly scoots back and he leans over until he’s almost flush against the table. One hand shoots forward and plants gently against his forehead. It’s cool. Alexander instinctively leans into it, lets his eyes slip near closed at the sensation.

“ _Mon dieu_ , Alexander. You are burning!”

The look of concern quickly escalates to alarmed and Lafayette abruptly stands. Alexander’s eyes open fully again, blinking, fuzzy. Was it so hard to focus just a minute ago?

“I assure you, I’m fine,” He detests how weak his voice sounds.

“You are clearly not.”

Ignoring his own pile of papers, Lafayette rounds the work table and pulls back Alexander’s chair, prompts him to rise. He does not- mostly out of a stubborn refusal to abandon his work, and in small part because he’s not fully confident that his legs will hold him should he attempt to stand.

“Up,” Lafayette prompts him. The tone is filled with worry, but there’s something commanding there too. He carefully grips one of Alexander’s arms. “Please. Do not make me order you.”

He makes a weak sound, something between a scoff and a laugh. And yet, he knows that his friend is not joking. Pushed enough, frightened enough for Alexander’s health, he would certainly go so far as to nobly carry him to bed himself, and post guards at the door to keep him there.

Alexander’s stubbornness is matched by those closest to him, much as he’s loathe to admit. Important as his work is, as much as he desires to leave some permanent mark, evidence of his own existence, he does not want his demise to be something so simple, embarrassing as a line in one of Lafayette’s letters:

_Poor Alexander. My idiot friend did not take the hint from his own body and worked himself to death._

Ending up remembered as a fool is almost worse than not being remembered at all. Alexander sighs, rises with Lafayette’s assistance. 

He supposes he can rest. For a little while, anyway. 

He releases his quill and allows himself to be lead away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! My goal with posting these is improving my writing and ultimately getting into longer, more detailed fics. You can read more of my stuff on my [**tumblr over here**](https://stegekay.tumblr.com/) if you're interested! I'm always looking for more prompts!


End file.
